Bishop Edwin Colaco Passes Away

Mumbai, 22 September 2025 (CCBI): Bishop Edwin Colaco, Bishop Emeritus of Aurangabad, passed away on 22 September 2025 at 3:30 p.m. following a massive cardiac arrest. He was 87. Funeral details will be announced shortly.

Bishop Colaco served the Church with distinction for more than five decades. He was Bishop of Amravati from 1995 to 2006 and later shepherded the Diocese of Aurangabad from 2006 until his retirement in 2015. He also chaired the CCBI Commission for Family from 2008 to 2015.

Born on 2 October 1937 in Utan, in the Archdiocese of Bombay, he was the third of nine children of Mary and Isidore Colaco. After completing his schooling, he entered the Diocesan Seminary of Bombay in 1955, which later became St. Pius X College in 1960. He was ordained a priest in 1964 for the Archdiocese of Bombay, which at that time included the present Diocese of Vasai.

For thirty years, Fr. Colaco served in various pastoral and administrative roles in the Archdiocese — as assistant parish priest, parish priest, Consultor of the Archdiocese, Dean, and Episcopal Vicar. He also chaired the committee preparing for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Vasai in 1986.

In 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Amravati. After eleven years of ministry there, he was transferred to Aurangabad in 2006, where he served as bishop for nine years until his retirement on 13 May 2015.

During his episcopal ministry, he was Secretary of the Western Region Bishops’ Council for eleven years and Chairman of the Western Region Women’s Commission.

By Dr. Stephen Alathara 

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